by Tim Howard

Created on: June 19, 2008   Last Updated: November 07, 2008

Watch any newscast this month and you are bound to see footage of horrific flooding in the Midwest. Invariably you will see shots of buildings and vehicles submerged in flood water. After the water recedes, many buildings are condemned. What happens to all those cars and trucks? If they are older models chances are their owners had minimal insurance coverage so those will be junked. But what will happen to the newer models? In most cases insurance companies consider these vehicles total losses and compensate the policy holder. The vehicle is then sold to a salvage yard. Depending on the model, the vehicle is then disassembled and sold for parts or as scrap metal. However, many of these cars end up back on American roads.

The promise of like new used cars and big profits entice many unscrupulous dealers to recondition flood cars and resell them. In many states the practice is illegal but loopholes exist that can produce clean titles for vehicles that were intended for the scrap heap. As a buyer you should do all that you can to avoid buying a water damaged car or truck. There are three primary reasons that you do not want one of these vehicles; powertrain, interior, and most importantly, electrical.

If the engine suffers water damage it will usually be apparent right away. This is also true of the transmission in most cases but sometimes there are long term effects of water intrusion in the trans. The reseller has probably rebuilt or replaced these units in order to make the vehicle operate before sending it to market. A vehicle interior that has been submerged requires extensive cleaning to remove stain and odor. Potential long term effects are mold and mildew. Water that has crept under carpeting and inside seats is not easily cleaned and can rear its ugly head later on. An electrical system that has been water damaged will haunt a buyer forever. This is the main reason not to buy a flood car.

A modern vehicle has several on board computers; many more control modules, and thousands of feet of wiring. A lot of these systems run on low voltage, sometimes as low as a milli volt. Proper operation requires that these voltages be exact. If the powertrain computer receives a feedback voltage of 2 volts from a sensor, then a reading of 1.3 is going to cause a problem. This is a very common side effect of water intrusion. When moisture enters an electrical connector it immediately begins to corrode the surrounding metal. The connection becomes compromised and the aforementioned scenario occurs. Unfortunately no amount of cleaning and reconditioning can completely eliminate this problem. The car will be an electrical nightmare for you and your mechanic as long as you own it.

How can you avoid this? First try and get a Carfax report. The report may reveal if an insurance company intended the car to be salvaged. Next, go over the car with a fine tooth comb. Get a large light and look in out of the way places for signs of water. Standing water will leave marks under the dash and inside fenders. Pull back the carpeting in the trunk. If you are mechanically inclined, remove a door panel. Water tends to collect inside of doors. If you are not comfortable doing so then hire a mechanic to do a complete inspection. It could be money well spent. Lastly, the old adage holds true; if it looks like too good of a deal then it probably is.

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